Flying apparatus



May 17, 1927.

R. A. BIBARD FLYING APPARATUS May 17, 1927.

R. A. BIBA'RD FLYING APPARATUS Filed Ju1y712, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 lWenZof jfea/Za/ May 17 1927.

R. A. BIBARD FLYING APPARATUS Filed July 12, 1924 Fig. 5

(5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented May 17, 1927.,

REN AUGUSTE BIBARD, O'F BELLEVUE; FRANGE.

FLYING APPARATUS.

Application. .filedl July 12, 1924, Serial No.l 725,711-, and France July'13, 1923 ence toA the provision of a fork or stirrupto.

y be installed on one end ot' the fuselage of a fi-ying'machine such .as an aeroplane and a` frame: for carrying al machine or other gun.

and a gunner to operate the same, together with means toenableJ the gunner totrain the gun4 in any direction whether up: or don/ni or. laterally asA may be required by a target such as an enemy plane ora bodfyeot' troops., and

while the flyingl machinel may be describing any ot the evolutions required in battle.

One object ot the invention is to provideimprored means for inclining the gun carrying frame in a longitudinal vertical. plane with respect to the flying machine. y

Another ob 'ect is to provide improved means for ineliningl the gun carrying fra-me laterally with respect to the flying machine.

Another object is to eiiect improvements in the construction of the said. rame/ A further object is to provide improved mea-ns for protecting the aviator or pilot trom the wind.

lnthe accompanying drawings:

Fig-ure 1 isy a longitudinal. section and a vertical one passingthrough the centre of the apparatus. n

vFigure 2 Ais a horizontal section passing through the axes ot' suspension around which the aviator turns, the one of the fork and the one ot' the trame.

Fig-ure is a` vertical, and a transverse section passing through the axis of the frame.

The fuselage is here show-n, as of the usual construction the upper and lower members thereof being indicated at 63, 64. Arranged longitudinallyY of the fuselage and-entending/torwardly therefrom is a pivotal shaft 4 which may be tubular andwhich is` mounted in bea-rings 4: provided midway between the sides ot the fuselage..` The rear endV la of a `lork iframe is secured at.- its center to the frontend of said pivoting shaft and said trame has triangular sides 1 truncated at the front end as at 2. These sides extend downwardly as well as forwardly froml the pivoting shaft so that the center of gravity of the forked trame is below theshaft as will be noted .on reference to Figure 1. In practice the side trames 1 may be covered with sheet'steel or other protecting material.

A transversely larranged bar 32 extends through and connects the trent portions .of

the sides 1 ol. the forli frame and, .is here shown as: provided lat one end withy a nutV 3?* and. at the oppositey end with a, nut 11. Said bar alsoy has an enlarged portion 10v which` bears against the inner side of the rightt hand side of thel fork frame 1. On said bill'. is. a spur gear 9 which is secured against rotas tion screws 9a which pass therethrough and through said sideof the fork frame and hold said gear against the portion 10,@ A;

sleeve 12isl arranged on the bar 3 for turn.Y

ing movement and is provided at the center with a dependingarm.111y which has a bear'- inzg 15 at; its lower end. A tubular bar 23,

extends rearwardly from; the central portion ot the arn'i 14 a suitable distance, isbentvupwardly as at 17 andhas. an extension- 17:1' which entends upwardly and iscurvedl rear#Y wardly as shown andtorms the support for a correspondingly curved back 18.." Ak bar,

25 y extends downwardly' and rearwardly 'from the upper portion ofthe arm 14 and is united at its Vlower end to said bar 23..

A bar 1G extends upwardly and. rearwardly .trom the lower end of said.l arml and isl united at its upper endto said. bar 2.3.A A

vertical tubular bearing 19 is arranged at a suitable distance in front andy somewhat higher than the upper end oi the arm. lean-d is connected to the upper end of said arm by an. inclined. bai: 23'andits lower portion' is also. connected to the lower end of said arm 14k by an mclinedv bar 22.y A bar 24;

connects the bar 22 to the central portion, of the arm 14. A seat 17 for the gunner is supported on a bracket 17b which has, 3,#

downwardly extending arm 17C `which is mounted in the joint between the members 28', 25e 26,. as show-n, An arm 2.6 extends rearwardly from the bar 25, at a suit-able point and secured to its rear end is. a shield 30 which is arranged at a suitable height to press. against the abdomen, of the gunner.

The upper end of, the bearing 19 is con-y nected to the back 1.8 by rearwardly diverging bars 28. In practice a belt will be worn byv the gunner and will be connected by a suitable strap or straps tothe bar 23 at the e point indicated at 33. A mitrailleuse2-1. ory other suitable machine gun is provided with a supporting pivot 2O` which is mounted in the bearing 19` so that the gun may bev either turnedl on its trunnions as required or moved pivotally in the bearing 19v as may be required in sighting and tiring.

A pair of verticalarms 5, 13. depends trom' gearris'ai'i'anged near the arin 5 and is in vertical kalignment withy the gear 9. Intermediate gears 8 connect the gears 6 and 9 as shown and aremounted yon suitable supf porting axles or studs 8a. The uppermost gear 8 has an axle shaft Sbwliich extends through and has a bearing iii the arm 5 and isprovided at its inner lend witha periph- Y eralrly notchedlocking disk 31. A'locking .the saidfork are installed.

dog 32 'is providedwhich may behengaged with any of thenotches ofthe disk 31 in order to secure the gun and ginnici' carrying frame in any desired adju'stinentin a vertical plane. lVhen the dog 32 is .disengaged from the locking disk the gunner by operating the crank shaft and thereby imparting rotation to thetrainof gears 8 may cause the uppermostof said Ygears byengagement `withwthe ixed gear 9'tolincliiie the said frame' forwardly or rearwardly'to'any ex-y tent to enable` thegunner totrain the gun.

and keep theV same trained on the target whether that be an enemy plane,y a body of troops or othertarget, and this regardless o't ythe position and plane Aof movement ott the aeroplane on whichtlie said trame vand .I ,I also provide means to tilt or incline the gun carrying frame laterally 'to any desired extent and with respect to the aeroplane, to

compensate for lateral movements or inclinations of the latterA whenin flight, whichl means I "will now describe. -An aileron or wing 3&1 ot suitable size and shape is arranged at one side of the gun carrying traine and is provided with a shaft or Abar45a which is arranged in vertical aligninentwith the pivoting crossbar 3 and is provided at its inner end with a screw-threaded extension 45 which passes freely through openings in the inner landouter ends' ot a casing 46 which is secured to one side of the gun carrying frame, the said threaded extension passing tliioiigli andA having threaded engagement with a nutelement 2 provided in the side 2 of vsaid frame. VA coiled extensile spring 48 is arranged in said casing', the outer end oi' said spring bearing against the outer end of said casing and theinner end of said spring bearing against a stop 47 with which the threaded extension 45 is provided.v so that the said spring exerts its tension to move' the bar 45a inwardlyv and by reason ing frame is verticaLsf of the threadedengagem'ent of said bar thus gun Carry-Y A'bushing is mounted i'oi 'sliding movek nient on thehubmember 12 and is connected by rods `11, l2 to a disk 43 whichY has a central opening through'wliiehthe pivoting bar 3 extends, said disk bearing against and being revolubly, slidablv related togthelinner eiidof the bar 45a. The hub member 12 is provided on opposite sides with arms 39, 40 the latter being provided with ratchet teethV 40a. 'Abifurcated lever 38ihas the lower ends .of its' downwardlyr extending karms pivotally connected at 3 8a to the'arm 39 and also connected pivotally or 4slidal'ily Vasr at 38 to lugs 37at which are `provided on the front and rear sidesl of the bushing. Hence said bushing` can be operated bythe gunner means of the'lever 3S to move the bushing outwardly or inwardly and correspondingly move the disk 43'. `lVlien said disk is moved outwardly by reason of its .revoluble and slidable engagement with the inner end 35a whichexerts outward thrust on said bar thus` causing said bar bvV reason Sof itsfthreaded engagement withithe member 2av Yto partlyV turn and to thereby correspondingly rturn the aileron 34.' Theair resistance on said aileron l occasioned' byv thefprwai'd motionof the aeroplane causes the gun carrying ytrame toY tilt laterally as VIwillA be understood andV to an extent correspondingr lto the adjusted position in which the aileron is placed and held. A suitable locking dog 4Gb is provided .for engagement with the ratchet teeth 40a vrings 54, 55, which vrings are pivotally connected to the saidpanels and also to the 'ends of'said bar. The bar 56 has a. rearwardly extending centrally located guidebai L56 which is slidablynioimtedin an opening in" a crossbar 58 of the fuselage andis provided `at its rear end .with a stop 56h.V eXtensile spring 5 7 is arranged on said guidebar, bears between the stop 56" and the cross-beam 58 and normally holds the bar 56 at the rearward limit of its' movement so A coiled that the panels will be held thereby' in hori- I zontal, closed position. `VTo enable the avia-l tor to readily operate 'the bar 56 and cause Y Vthe panels to Vopen, tothe position shown in vI `igure1 I provide a suitable strip or cord 59 which is attached to' the central portion of saidfbar extends forwardly under a pulley 59a and under a pulley 59", which pulleys are mounted as shown, the said cord extending forwardly and being secured in any desired adjusted position to a suitable cleat GO. By pulling forwardly on the cord the aviator may cause the bar 56 to move forwardly to open the panels orwindscreens to any desired extent.

The fork and the frame and the means for operating them may be employed for commercial purposes as well as for military purposes.

In the drawing I show a pair of crutches 61, 62 at opposite sides of the bottom of the fuselage, at the front end thereof, which c-rutches are of leaf spring construction.

Operation of the device.

In the moment of lighting the gunner holding in his left hand the handle controlling the motions of the fork around the longitudinal axis, directing with his pedals the movement of the frame around the transverse axis, regulates at the same time the inclination of his seat and that of the weapon, that is to say, he is placed in face of' the latter in the same relative position. with the. same facilities for aiming'and firing. By

his right hand he regulates the proper mo-V tions of the gun which add themselves to those of the fork and of the frame and increase the rapidity of 'gaging Advantages and 'atlzeat'w'lL-Vlie possi bility of turning in,a vertical and longitudinal circle assures to the gunner the sole means of fighting with advantage against aggression most t-o be feared; the one where the aggressor describes one-fourth of a cir cumferencebehind and below the machine. The gunner in the tower heretofore used perceives the same only at its mostl rapid falling speed and then he linds himself suddenly withoutdefense; exposed to strokes of an enemy who is invisible at the moment when he is nearest. rihe gunner in the fork, however, does not lose for a moment the view of his adversary and is facing the saine constantly. Hence he is in a better condi-- tion for firing than the enemy. IIe pursues him below the machine or above the same up to the limit -of'reach of his weapon, if he so desires. The machine with a fork appears practically unapproachable for near fight. Since the apparatus is more stable, owing to its construction, and its lifting or carrying power is very high, this invention makes it possible to arm an aeroplane with a gun of small calibre ymounted andarranged for ring at long distance, and to dispense definitely with the light machine advantageous only for rapid exploration. n

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. In combination with a flying machine, a fork mounted thereon for rotation about a longitudinal axis and a frame mounted for turning movement about a fixed axis extending transversely of thefprongs of the fork, vsaid frame being arranged to carry a weapon and being provided with a seat for a gunner. f

2. In combination with a iying machine, a forli mounted thereon for rotation about a longitudinal axis and a frame mounted for turning movement about a fixedv axis extending transversely of the prongs of the fork, said frame being arranged to carry a weapon and being provided with a seat for a gunner and means including a foot lever to. control the turning movement of' the frame. l

In combination .with a flying machine, a fork mounted thereon forrotation about a longitudinal axis and a frame mounted for turning movement about a fixed axis extending transversely of thek prongs of the forl, saidA frame being arranged to carry a weapon and being provided with a seat for a gunner and means including foot levers and a. transmission train of epicycloidal gears to control. the rotation of' said frame.

4f. In combination with a flying machine, a fork mounted thereonV for rotation abouta longitudinal axis and a frame mounted for turning movement about a fixed axis extending transversely of the prongs of the fork, said frame being arranged to carry a weapon and being provided with a seat for a gunner and meansy to control the turning movement of the fork and including a crank xed on the frame'.

In combination with a flying machine a fork mounted'thereon for lateral inclination with respect thereto and arranged to maintain itself by gravity in a normal vertical plane, a. frame mounted on said fork for longitudinal vertical inclination with respect to the machine, means to cause said fork to be laterally inclined with respect to said machine, said means including an aileron, and means to operate the aileron.

In witness whereof I aiiix my signature.

. REN AUGUSTE BIBARD. 

